US Olympic Sprinter LaShawn Merritt Prepares For 2016 Rio Olympics at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney

Filed in: Brooks Johnson, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Professional Sports

US Olympic Team sprinter LaShawn Merritt is training at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort for the Rio Olympic Games in August.

Merritt, who trains at Disney with other world-class sprinters under former US Olympic track coach Brooks Johnson, recently qualified for this year’s Olympic team in the 200-meter and 400-meter races after having missed London Olympic Games in 2012 due to injury. At the 2008 Beijing Games, the veteran sprinter won the gold medal in the 400-meter and 4×400-meter relay.

This year, Merritt, who has run the fastest 400-meters in the world so far this year, is not only going after another Olympic medal in Rio, but also is chasing the 400-meter world record (43.18 seconds) set by Michael Johnson in 1999. Merritt could also become the first male sprinter since Johnson to win gold in the 400-meter and 200-meter races in the same Olympics.

B-roll of Merritt training at Disney as well as sound bites from him and Johnson are available on www.DisneySportsNews.com and via relay link:https://www.relayit.net/pickup.php?c=6tDmH5kfmd5SwrsDt5v26z527nmCHgnkffKm

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